Posted!

Join the Nation's Conversation

Same-sex parenting key in Michigan gay marriage trial

Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press
11:59 a.m. EST February 24, 2014

Judge will weigh scientific studies in decision whether to uphold or strike down state ban.

Nolan, left, poses with April DeBoer, Jacob, Ryanne and Jayne Rowse on Oct. 14, 2013. DeBoer and Rowse are asking the court to overturn a 2004 law that prohibits same-sex couples from marrying in the state and to declare unconstitutional Michigan's Adoption Code, which prohibits joint adoption by gay or lesbian couples. Nolan and Jacob are adopted by Rowse; Ryanne is adopted by DeBoer.(Photo: Mandi Wright, Detroit Free Press)

Story Highlights

Two nurses who argue the gay marriage and adoption bans violate their right to get married and adopt each other's children

In 2004, Michigan voters approved a constitutional amendment that defined marriage as "the union of one man and one woman"

A key issue in this trial will be whether children raised by same-sex parents fare better or worse in life than children raised by heterosexual parents — or whether there's no difference in their well-being.

Both sides claim they have science on their side.

But now, for the first time, scientific studies on same-sex parenting will undergo legal scrutiny, where a judge will decide whose experts and studies are more credible as he decides whether to uphold Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage, or declare it unconstitutional.

The case involves two nurses who argue the gay marriage and adoption bans violate their right to get married and adopt each other's children.

April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse sued in January 2012, initially raising only the adoption issue, but then challenging the gay marriage prohibition as well.

Rowse has two preschool-age boys; DeBoer has a 3-year-old daughter. They argue the state has no "rational basis" for denying them the right to get married and adopt children.

The state argues that the voters of Michigan have already spoken on the issue and that a federal court should not be allowed to drown out the will of the voters. In 2004, voters approved a constitutional amendment that defined marriage as "the union of one man and one woman."

The trial is expected to last eight days. Both sides are promising a fight.

"There's a new batch of experts that have cropped up that are being used to defend this ban. Our (trial) will be the first to test out these new experts," said Dana Nessel, one of several lawyers fighting to legalize same-sex marriage in Michigan and allow gay couples to adopt each other's children. "On our end, we believe this is science. We have sociologists, child growth experts, psychologists ... (who) uniformly agree that child outcomes for children raised by gays and lesbians is just as promising as those kids raised by heterosexuals."

Jayne Rowse , left, and her partner April DeBoer speak with the news media while attending a rally in favor of same-sex marriage on Oct. 16, 2013, in Detroit.(Photo: Bill Pugliano, Getty Images)

Nessel added: "Gays and lesbians and same-sex couples are just as confident, loving, nurturing and capable as their heterosexual counterparts. These loving couples deserve the right to marry and to adopt their children."

Opponents disagree.

"Michigan supports natural procreation and recognizes that children benefit from being raised by parents of each sex who can then serve as role models of the sexes both individually and together in matrimony," the state has argued in court documents.

More than 100 religious leaders from around the state are to rally in Detroit today in support of the ban. Among them is Apostle Ellis Smith of the Jubilee Church in Detroit.

"We believe that the family structure is absolutely and eternally connected to human flourishing," Smith said. "Moreover, children do far better when raised by a man and woman who are married, receiving the unconditional love and support of both their mother and father."

Defining marriage

Over the past two decades, the gay marriage issue has triggered controversy nationwide, with states and voters making sweeping changes in laws defining marriage.

According to the National Council of State Legislatures, 17 states allow same-sex marriage, and 33 states prohibit it, including 29 that have prohibitions in their state constitutions. But those bans have been challenged over the years.

Most recently, Oregon's attorney general on Thursday decided to halt her office's defense of the state's same-sex marriage ban. That decision involved a case in which two same-sex couples argued the state's law violates the U.S. Constitution.

A federal judge in Virginia last year ruled that state's ban is unconstitutional, following a similar ruling in Oklahoma.

Utah would have been the 18th state to legalize gay marriage after a federal judge in December ruled its ban was unconstitutional. But the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a stay pending appeal by the state.

According to the Williams Institute, a think tank at the UCLA Law School that researches sexual orientation and gender identity law:

• As many as 6 million Americans have a gay or lesbian parent.

• Same-sex parents and their children are more likely to be racial and ethnic minorities.

In recent years, several studies on same-sex parenting have produced conflicting results.

A 2012 University of Texas-Austin study by sociology professor Mark Regnerus, who is going to testify on behalf of Michigan, concluded that adult children of gays and lesbians were more likely to get involved with drugs, get divorced and be depressed than grown kids raised in heterosexual families.

It also found that LGBT individuals and same-sex couples raising children face greater economic challenges than heterosexuals.

On the flip side, the Australian government found that children raised by same-sex parents fare just as well in school and with emotional and social development as those raised by heterosexual parents.

The report, published in December, found "there is now strong evidence that same-sex-parented families constitute supportive environments in which to raise children."

The American Academy of Pediatrics bolstered that argument in a 2013 report.

"Over the past decade, 11 countries have recognized marriage equality and, thus, allow marriage between two partners of the same gender. ... There has been no evidence that children in these countries have experienced difficulties as a result of these social changes."

Another study, published in the Journal of Family Psychology, found that the emotional and behavioral outcomes of children adopted and raised by same-sex couples do not differ.

According to the report, an estimated 16,000 same-sex couples are raising more than 22,000 adopted children in the U.S.

Changing attitudes

Michigan's trial comes as a growing number of Americans support same-sex marriage. According to recent Gallup polls, support has nearly doubled since 1996, to about half of Americans.

Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriage in 2004; Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York and the District of Columbia went on to legalize it as well, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Meanwhile, forces are lining up to uphold the Michigan law.

"We believe that marriage between one man and one woman creates the best possible environment for the health and wellness of children," Pastor Lennell Caldwell of the First Baptist World Changers said in a statement. "While we agree that every American has a right to choose to live as he or she wants, no one is entitled to redefine marriage."

That philosophy baffles Nessel.

"Every day that our law has remained in place is another day where you have the lives of children jeopardized," she said. "If something happens to one of the parents, there's no legal rights for the second parent. The kids go back into foster care or with remote relatives. ... These laws ... help absolutely no one."